The Role of a Prayer Burden — Wesley Duewel

I've been kneeling here, I don't feel worthy to give the message this afternoon. I feel that many times, but especially in this message. I don't want it to be a trivial thing. I hope that all of us are carrying on our hearts holy concerns, and I hope that God uses you to help your people share holy concerns from the heart of God.

The Meaning and Necessity of Prayer Burdens

And there's a term which, among us that have been here this week, we use rather freely and I'm going to speak on that term today, prayer burdens. But do you know that there are many people that know practically nothing about prayer burdens?

And oh, that God's people would share with Jesus. Must Jesus bear the cross alone or all the world go free? Must Jesus bear the burdens of our lost world comparatively alone? Oh, that God would help us get to the place where we can thus share the heartbeat of God.

He's depending on us, we're so, such failures, we're so weak, oh, that somehow we could sense more constantly the heartbeat of God. Sometimes that heartbeat is sheer joy, and sometimes it is heavy burden.

God so loves the church, and he wants the church to be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. And God so loves our world, he was willing to die for it, yet we forget so quickly. As a basis of this, I'm going to read several verses from the first chapter of Nehemiah in the Old Testament.

Nehemiah’s Holy Concern for Jerusalem

I was in the citadel of Susa. Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile and also about Jerusalem. You see, Nehemiah had a holy concern.

He was concerned about Jerusalem. This was a disgrace. Israel was in captivity. Jerusalem had fallen. The flame had been extinguished in the temple. The holy sacrifices had stopped. For practical purposes, Israeli ritual religion was at a standstill.

And so here come some people, and I can just imagine, oh, you have just come from Jerusalem. Oh, brother, tell me, how is it? What's happening in Jerusalem? He has this concern. He is carrying a continual concern on his heart.

They said to me, those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire. When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.

He couldn't take it. He couldn't keep standing. He felt so heavenly. He just had to sit down. And there he sat and wept. For some days, I mourned and fasted, and I prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said, oh, Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants.

You see, he could say to God, God, you know I've been praying day and night about this. I've been carrying this burden. You know my heart cried to you. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you.

And he goes on. And then he comes down, verse 11, oh, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayers of your servants who delight in revering your name. Lord, I know I'm not the only one.

You've got other faithful ones. They're praying. Oh, God, listen to us. Listen to us. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man. I was cupbearer to the king. The cupbearer was the closest associate of the king, closer than the prime minister, the most trusted person in the kingdom.

And Nehemiah had reached this position even though he was a Jew, a captive Jew. His life must have been so sterling, his walk with God so humble but transparent that a heathen emperor trusted him more than others.

He put his life in the cupbearer's hand. There were intrigues in those days. It wasn't safe to be an emperor. Many ways to try to kill him, to try to poison him. The cupbearer was the responsible one, and he was the one with whom the king confided when he wanted to talk things over.

He was a confident. And Nehemiah has been living with a heavy concern in his heart. And it had grown heavier and heavier until day and night he'd been praying. So when someone came from Jerusalem, oh, tell me, what's the condition in Jerusalem now?

And when he hears terms like disgrace, he just sits down or collapses down on the chair. It just about knocks him over. He is so burdened. And so he prays and fasts. That was our topic this morning. He was adding fasting not as a discipline here.

He was fasting because of his concern. He was intensifying his prayer to the level of fasting. I have called prayer burden the fifth level of prevailing prayer. Prayer burden can be so holy it goes beyond fasting.

Prayer burden begins deep in the heart. So I began with the word prayer concern. I believe there are many who share a prayerful concern up to a point. How many share it to the point of burden? You know how Paul was burdened for the church.

You know how Jesus was burdened in Gethsemane. And no doubt he was carrying prayer burden right along. Who could he share it with? Who could he share his burden with? Have you ever thought of that? Why didn't Jesus invite someone to go with him when he got up early in the morning, when he prayed through the night?

I don't suppose there was anybody spiritually sensitive enough to really share it with him. Do you remember when he took them up on the Mount of Transfiguration? They went to sleep. The closest disciples he had.

Do you remember in the garden? He didn't take them there to stand guard. He had those by the gate. But he took them with him farther in the garden. Surely they could carry some of his burden. No, they're spiritually unprepared to go to sleep.

We prevail in prayer only by the enablement of the Holy Spirit. And we carry a prayer burden only by the grace of God and the assistance of the Holy Spirit. And I suppose we carry prayer burdens so seldom because we so shallowly appreciate the heartbeat of God.

Our eyes fail to see what God sees. We go past a broken heart. We go past a dismayed person. We see what we don't see. Even we go beside the sickbed or stand with the family beside the casket and we say, I understand.

We don't understand. Why did Jesus weep at the tomb? He knew he was going to raise Lazarus. But he entered so into the sorrow of Mary and Martha. So even though he was within minutes of miracle, he wept.

That's the heartbeat of the Savior. Oh, that I would know more about the heartbeat of the Savior. Prayer burden begins with an inner impression that can gradually go deeper. Sometimes it begins very suddenly as a special gift and entrustment of the Holy Spirit to you.

It is God's way to call you to pray. It is God's way to try to draw you near enough to the heart of God that you pray with God the Son and with God the Holy Spirit in that trinity of intercession that you share the burden in the heart of God.

For no prayer burden ever begins with you. It always is but a reflection of a burden in the heart of God. You can have selfish prayer that come from greed, ambition, or something unworthy like that. But the prayer burden comes from the heart of God.

And if you begin to sense it and to see it, you know you're just on the fringe. But it's God who feels it infinitely more. So I hope all of us are carrying prayer concerns. Even I hope that you have one or two or more prayer burdens.

I don't think that anyone carries a host of prayer burdens. You may carry a multitude of concerns. Do you have a prayer concern for people? I have quite a list of people on my prayer list. And of those people on my prayer list, some days I have a deeper concern for one and some for another.

And there are several of those that I am more apt to have a deeper concern, maybe to the point of burden at times. I am touched for some reason or other. Now not everyone will be touched for the same ones.

So when you feel this, you are being specially trusted by God the Holy Spirit. You see, you may have been prepared by relationship, by past experience, by similarity of some kind, that you are more open to the Spirit sharing with you a deeper portion of God's prayer burden.

Sudden Emergency Prayer Burdens

So don't be proud, but be deeply grateful. And seek to respond and seek to share the prayer burden of God. The first variety of prayer burden is comparatively rare. It is maybe a little more spectacular, but it is very real.

And I believe if we were more constant in carrying regular prayer burdens, we would more often be entrusted by what I call instant emergency prayer burden. But, you know, a new Christian is sometimes entrusted with instant emergency prayer burden.

This is a sudden call of the Holy Spirit, an unexpected inward compulsion to pray and pray now. It is a compulsion that there is an urgency or a danger or something that's calling for prayer now. There is something that makes you, gives you an inward fear or tremble or apprehension, whatever.

I don't know how to express it, but it's time to pray now. You may have a clear concept of who it is for or what it is for. You may suddenly feel called to an instant prayer burden for a situation that flashes to your mind or for a person that flashes to your mind.

Or it may be that there is just an instant apprehension that something is needing prayer. And as you immediately try to open your heart and close your eyes to the outside things about that you may discern, what is it, Lord?

What is it that you're wanting me to share? Then it may become clarified. Sometimes you don't know until later what it was all about. So it may be very specific. It will always be very strong. And it may be very specific.

And it may be that it emerges into greater more specificity. The burden gets heavier. And as you respond, it may get still heavier and so heavier. You may become false to tears. You may be so gripped that there's a deep apprehension.

And you just call on God for mercy. It's an SOS from God. It's nothing that you put apart till your next personal prayer retreat. It's nothing that you put apart till Sunday when you'll have more time for prayer.

If you as a pastor have more time for prayer on Sunday or whatever day you use for your free day. It's important to go instantly to prayer. Dr. J. Oswald Sanders, who was the overseas director for the China Inland Mission, now called Overseas Missionary Fellowship, a New Zealander.

He was traveling in central China when Mrs. Sanders was in bed at midnight and suddenly got an impression that she must pray immediately for her husband. In this case, she knew it was for her husband.

She didn't know where he was. She knew he was on a trip. She did not know that he was in a very dangerous, bandit-infested area. But at midnight, she was awakened and called to prayer. And she went to prayer.

And later, when they compared notes, they found this was the exact time when he was in great physical danger. She was prayer partner with her husband and with Jesus and with the Holy Spirit. During World War II, a British captain, a British chaplain, on a British warship in the English Channel, had gone to bed and was awakened in the night with a strong urgency to pray.

He got right out of his bunk and got on his knees beside his bunk and began to call on God. And as he interceded and called on God for mercy and for God to undertake, he prayed until the burden lifted.

Sometimes these sharp prayer burdens last only a brief time. You pray then or you don't pray at all. You pray then or you fail God's purpose. And he prayed immediately. And when peace came to his heart, he was getting back in his bunk when just then the ship's officer stepped in the door and said, Chaplain, we just missed a floating mine by a few yards.

And within the next couple of days, two other ships were sunk with a loss of over 1 ,500 lives in that very area. There was a praying chaplain that was available to God that God used to prove the power of prayer and to prove how God uses us to affect events in the world and in his kingdom.

Prayer Burdens and God’s Providential Protection

Just after my wife and I were married, we were going to go to a pastorate, but we stopped by my parents' home for a few days. We were very poor, beginning with almost nothing. And in those few days, God did several wonderful things.

I had less than $100 to my name and knew I had to get some kind of a car. And a cousin gave me $125. Praise the Lord, I was able to get a car, which served us in the pastorate until we left for India.

We were in my parents' home in the spare bedroom. And my father and mother went out to a prayer meeting out in the country one weeknight. They went out there on a regular basis. And my wife and I did not go along.

And we were just going to get ready for bed, so we had prayer time together. We were kneeling beside the bed. And I believe Betty prayed first. And I was praying when suddenly in the midst of my prayer, I was gripped with a prayer burden.

I didn't know what it was, but I just sensed danger. And I opened my eyes and I looked. There was a window beside where I was kneeling. I wondered if there was someone with a gun outside the window. If we were in danger, what it was, I didn't know.

And I just began to pray for God to have mercy. Oh, Lord, undertake, I plead your precious blood. I plead your precious name. I plead the name of Jesus. And I began to pray and pray more strongly and just call on God.

I don't know how long I prayed like this. You don't at such a time. You're not watching your watch. You are totally absorbed in prayer. And then the burden lifted. And I tapered off my prayer and said amen.

And Betty said, what was that, Wesley? What was wrong with you? What were you praying about? What was that? I said, I don't know. I said, there was danger. Who was in danger? I said, I don't know. There was danger.

She said, well, your face was as white as a sheet. So we talked a little bit and got in bed. We hadn't gone to sleep yet, maybe 10, 15 minutes. There was a gentle knock on the door. And then my mother's voice, Wesley.

I said, yes, mother, come in. She opened the door. She said, oh, Wesley, God was so merciful to us. Papa and I were coming down the highway. It's a county highway, gravel road. Coming down the highway.

And there was a car with such bright lights. Came straight at us at such a speed. And both of our eyes were blinded. We couldn't see where we were on the road. And it looked like we were going to be hit head on by that speeding car.

When suddenly it passed us on the wrong side. And when it was passed, we discovered we were on the wrong side of the road. Oh, Wesley, she said, God was so merciful to us. So for more than 30 years, my father carried on in gospel ministry.

Preaching on two radio stations to the very last week of his life. He was 87. In fact, I was called home. And I got there the day before the funeral. And on the radio in the home where I was staying, I suddenly heard my father's voice.

It was his last message recorded several days before on the radio. And at the close, they said, Reverend Doole's memorial service will be held today. And they gave the address. What if I had said, Betty, you suppose we could take off an hour for a special prayer tomorrow?

I'd been too late. Supposing I had said, you know, I believe there are so many urgent needs. And I feel God wants me to pray. I don't know what all for. I think I'll set off tomorrow for a day of prayer.

The Indonesian Coup and the Power of Intercessory Prayer

I wouldn't have done it. I'd been too late. When an SOS comes, you pray then. Or you don't pray. There was a businessman in Sydney, Australia. And one evening, he began to feel a deepening prayer concern for Indonesia.

And he felt that he should call several men together to pray. So he got on the phone. He got several men who agreed, and they came together, and they prayed for Indonesia. And they prevailed in prayer that night.

Little did they know. Little did the Christians of Indonesia know that that was the night for Indonesia. The communists had been planning for months for a coup which would take over the government. They had prepared lists.

Every missionary's name was on the list. Every police official's name was on the list. The lists were later found, so we know exactly. And behind each list was the name of the person assigned to assassinate them.

And within the first hours of the coup, all these people were to be eliminated. I stayed in the home of a Christian Missionary Alliance couple. They said, people came and dug a pit in their front yard.

They said, what are you doing here? They said, we have orders from the municipal government to dig a pit, and hereafter you're to put your garbage in this pit. They thought it was strange, but, you know, they're visitors, guests in a foreign country.

Little did they know that that's where their bodies were to have been thrown, and then the pit covered. They found the stocks of uniforms to be worn when the coup took effect. It was D-Night, and the assassination squads started out.

And there were six top generals to be assassinated immediately, and five of the six were captured and assassinated. And the jeep with communist guerrillas drove up to the front door, front of a house, of Air Force General Suharto, who is now the Prime Minister of Indonesia.

And they got out silently from the jeep with their guns. And just as they got out ready to storm the house, suddenly one soldier's finger just began trembling. And he looked, and he couldn't stop, he couldn't control his finger.

And his finger just began to, and before he knew it, it had hit the trigger, and the gun shot off straight up in the air. And General Suharto was in bed. And he heard the shot, and instinctively he leaped out the bedroom window and ran zigzagging across and got to the Air Force headquarters.

And he was a surviving man to take charge. And for two weeks it swayed like this, and nobody knew. I don't have time to tell you one Christian that I knew who was the head of the Indian Christian, of Indonesian Christian labor union.

Did you ever know there were such things? There was. And by sheer accident, no providence. That was the year, by turns they rotated the leaders of the labor unions to make the top leader of all the labor unions of Indonesia.

And there was a Christian at the head of this labor union. And another friend of mine, Ice Hormans, who was leading Campus Crusade at that time, felt led to go to see the other friend. I can't for the moment think of his name.

I've met him. We've talked briefly about the situation. And Ice went to him and said, Brother, it was just, who's going to succeed? Are the communists going to succeed, or are the government forces going to succeed?

And Ice said, Brother, God's put you in a strategic place. Are you going to risk your life for God's sake and for Indonesia? And he prayed with him. And the labor union leader went out on the street to take a procession.

The Christian labor union was small, but because he was chairman for the whole of the labor unions, when his labor union came out, the whole labor unions came out and started parading the streets for the government and not for the communists.

They might have been mowed down by the communists. No one knew how advanced they were in their preparations. But the tide turned. Because, what? A businessman in Australia got a sudden prayer burden and got together a group of men, and not knowing why, they just prevailed for Indonesia.

And so what happened? Some people call it great revival that spread across Indonesia. And thousands of people, in fact, hundreds of thousands of people became at least nominal Christians, and many, we hope, became real Christians.

And to this day, the communists have not taken over Indonesia. And it probably hung in the balance in the hand of one businessman in Sydney, Australia. I am told, but I have not been able to verify, I have been told that in the Philadelphia area, there was a businessman who felt the same impression and got some people together to pray.

If anyone knows anything, I would like to investigate. I don't know how to investigate it. But I know in Sydney, Australia, a sudden, instant prayer burden. That puts you on instant responsibility. You're a watchman on God's wall.

You are instantly responsible for whatever it is that is at need in the kingdom of God. You never know. You may be the only one. You may be one of several. But God is summoning you to play a role in the kingdom of God.

Gradually Deepening Prayer Burdens

The second variety of prayer burden is a gradually deepening prayer burden. Not an instant prayer burden, but a gradually deepening prayer burden. I hope you have experienced this. When something you begin, just as you take a concern upon your heart.

I believe maybe I ought to pray more for prison ministry. Or I believe I ought to pray more about the Muslim world. Or I believe I ought to pray more for Gideon's distribution of scripture. Or I believe, and you just sort of, to a sense, voluntarily, you take a need upon your heart.

I believe I ought to pray for the young people in our area. And you take that upon your heart. And as you carry it on your heart, it becomes deeper and deeper and deeper. And the more faithful you are, the heavier the prayer burden becomes.

Until you are a very entrusted individual in the kingdom of God. And you are one, or one of many, whatever God knows you don't need to know, responsible for the situation. It may be that at first you wonder, now is this just my own idea, or is this God giving me an assignment?

But as you pray on, it almost always becomes more clear. And you begin to feel, yes, this is what God wants me to pray for. You may put it on your daily prayer list. You may take other steps. You may decide to spend the day of fasting in prayer.

Perhaps I could give one illustration from some years ago. I was ministering in Perth, Australia. And coming to the end of my several weeks of ministry there, and about to go back to India. This was before I came to the OMS headquarters.

And I was in the last church. I was in the last city of Perth. I was in the Bible Institute of Perth. I was in another church earlier in the week. And on Wednesday, I came to the Perth, to the Scarborough Baptist Church.

And the first night, I spoke on communion with God and prayer, and the work in India. And as I went home that night, I began to feel a prayer concern coming over me. I prayed, went to bed. The next day, all day long, I began feeling the need of prayer.

I just need to pray. I didn't know what for, but I just felt the need to pray. So I thought to myself, I believe on Saturday, I should take the day off and just spend the whole day alone with God. This was Thursday.

On Friday, it became even more clear. I just felt a real conviction as I kept praying, yes, I must spend Saturday alone with God. So Friday evening, I said to my hosts, I said, tomorrow I have a special appointment.

Don't expect me for meals. I'll be away early in the morning, but don't worry, I'll be back in time to change my clothes, in time for the evening service. So I slipped out before daybreak on Saturday morning.

Took my Bible, my notebook, and I don't remember, several items. And I went out on, I had seen in general where the beach was. So I went out to the Scarborough Beach, and I found a place where there was a cluster of shrubs, bushes, and so forth.

And I found a place where I was able to have a kind of a hideout. I didn't see anybody all day long, and I don't think anybody saw me. And there on the beach, I was praying. I began the day with a wonderful time of communion with the Lord.

Reading maybe 50, 75 of the Psalms, I don't know. I was just feasting on the Word of God. And as the time went on, I began to feel more and more, oh, we must pray, we must pray. I just felt the prayer burden increasing steadily.

And then I began, of course, I was concerned for India. I was still a missionary in India. And then by noon, I just felt a tremendous sense of spiritual warfare. And my prayer began to change. I was no longer communing and feasting, but now I was praying for God to intervene, for Satan to be stopped, for God to slow down the onslaught of Satan, for God to break through the darkness.

And as I prayed on and on, I wrote two poems on militant prayer. I wasn't praying one word out loud. Utterly silent. I did not have a cold, hoarseness, or anything. Just praying silently, holding on to God.

And as I prayed on, I felt, I've got to change my message for tonight. And I prepared a new message fairly quickly that afternoon on the power of Satan and the power of God. And I knew I had the Word of the Lord for the evening service.

I walked back to the house, washed, changed my clothes. We started for the church. They asked no questions, and I made no comments. They asked me something, and I started to answer, and my voice was gone.

I couldn't say a word. I moved my mouth. I couldn't make a sound. We got to the church. One of the deacons came and opened the door. Well, Brother Duell, what's the matter? Can't you speak? You can't speak.

What are you going to do? I moved my lips. I'm going to preach. I knew I had the message of God. I didn't know what was happening. They took me on into the pastor's room. Each night we had a half an hour of prayer, the deacons, pastor, and I, before the evening service.

We went there, and they prayed up a storm, and we began the service. And the pastor started the service and all, introduced me. I went up to the pulpit, opened up my Bible to Ephesians 6. I struggled, and I couldn't make a sound.

By this time, the people were sitting up all over the church. What's going on? I gripped the pulpit on both hands. Now, I probably didn't take as long as it seemed, but, you know, when you're on the spot, it seems a long time.

And I struggled and struggled, and finally I got four. One word at a time. We struggled, and I went on. And it seemed to me like every word I was saying, I was forcing out across the pulpit, and like it was just flopping down on the floor.

There was no liberty. There was no sense of anointing. No sense of God's presence. I just forced the words out, word by word. I think I got a little more fluent as time went on, but it was a forcing all the way through.

When I finished a message, I began first with the power of Satan, then on the power of God. I sat down. I don't think the pastor knew what to say or do. He got up. He dismissed the service. He went to the door and shook hands with the people, and I just stood at the pulpit.

Normally, I go to the door with the pastor. I just stood at the pulpit, and I put my head down in my hands. I said, Oh, Lord, I don't understand. I've tried to obey you. I've done everything I know to do.

Lord, I don't understand it. I don't understand. I'm not praying aloud in my heart. And I heard the voice, Brother Doolin. I looked up, and there was a sharp little woman standing in front of the pulpit.

I said, Yes, sister, and I came around. She said, Six months ago, I was born again, and I know I was born again, but before my salvation, I was partaking in black magic. And she says, Now the demons won't let me go, and every night when I go to bed, they gather around my bed visibly, and they hoot at me.

That was her words. They hoot at me. And for the first time in my life, I knew what righteous indignation was. I was angry with Satan. I forgot about the pastor at the door, a godly brother. I said, Sister, Satan has no right to torment you like that, and we're going to agree in prayer right now that he leave you alone.

And I don't think I prayed more than five or six sentences, but I just felt like I had the authority of heaven. And I prayed and said, Amen, and I knew I was finished. That was it. And she left, and my hosts were waiting for me.

He was secretary of the Board of Deacons. And so we went home, but I was shaken. I still didn't fully realize what was involved, what was happening. And I thought, What am I going to do tomorrow? Sunday morning, the last service, I was to fly at 2 o 'clock for Singapore, then to Calcutta, back to Allahabad in India.

And I went to bed praying. I prayed a good deal before I went to bed that night. And I got up in the morning, and I was praying. And I said, Lord, help me. I've got to finish this series here. Help me.

And I thought, What if the young people come? Someone wants me to meet with a Sunday school class. I don't believe I ought to speak. You know, I didn't want to endanger my voice. I couldn't explain what happened the night before.

So we went to the church, and I went straight to the pastor's room so no one would stop me and want to talk. And I got down on my knees, and just a little bit, there was a tap on the door. And here was a young man.

He said, Brother Dool, the young people would like to have you come and tell them about India and answer questions. And I thought, Lord, what do I do? Dare I use my voice? I had no problem that moment, but I just, I was shaken still, didn't know what was happening.

All right, I said, I'll come. And it was with a little reluctance that I went. And we had a helpful time, I hope. We came in the morning service, and the pastor, Brother Walton, I believe it was, he began the service.

Then just before I spoke, and you could sense God's presence that morning in the service. God was there. He said, Now we're going to learn a new song this morning. He said, Everybody turn over your bulletin on the back side of the last sheet.

I hadn't even turned the bulletin over, so I turned it over, and there was a poem I had read the first night, At Jesus' Feet. I didn't know the man was a musician, much less that he was a composer. He walked over to the organ, he began to play the organ, beautiful strings, and then he taught us to sing my poem, At Jesus' Feet.

I was just about in tears. I'd never heard words of mine sung by a congregation before. It seemed so heavenly. It was just precious to me. Then it was time to speak. When I got up, there was no problem with my voice.

The Lord was present. There was such a strong anointing upon me. When I finished speaking, there must have been 50 people came forward, some to be born again for the first time, some to be consecrating to be filled with the Spirit, some responding to the missionary call.

The pastor led in prayer. Oh, it was just, you were just ripped by God's presence. Then I went to the door to say goodbye to the people, and he said, if you want to, ask Brother, tell Brother Dool, you'll be praying for him as he goes back to India.

So I was at the door, pray for me, God bless you, pray for me, pray for me, shaking hands with me, and I reached for the next person. It was a big hulk of a man, and I don't know why, but I had not noticed him during the service, and I don't notice everybody in the service, but I certainly had not noticed him.

And the moment I saw him again for a first time, God gave me the gift of discernment. In an instant, I said, Brother, God can meet your need. I hadn't intended to say that. It was not in my mind, but I said, Brother, God can meet your need.

Instantly, his whole body began to shake and tremble. His head and his body, just like this. I grabbed his arm. I said, come to the pastor's room. And as soon as I finished shaking hands, by that time, one of the deacons came and got him on one side, another one came and got him, and they took him.

So I shook hands with the people, and then I went back to the pastor's room. He was sitting on a chair and was quiet then. So I kneeled down beside his chair, and I said, Brother, like you would, open your mouth, your heart, tell God your need.

Jesus is here to meet your need. Jesus died for you, and so on. I said a few words. He opened his mouth. And the moment he opened his mouth to pray, his whole body began to shake and tremble like this again.

We were praying. We were praying. And he calmed down. He tried again. Again, his whole body began vibrating like this. Finally, he got the words out. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And just like that, that spell was broken.

He was normal. He prayed to God. He prayed the sinner's prayer. He began to praise the Lord for the forgiveness of sins and salvation. He got up. We grabbed hands, and he hugged each other and all like that.

Well, I don't know how long it took, but anyway, it was behind schedule. So they bundled me in the car. I had no time to eat lunch because the plane left at 2. But the wife had prepared a sandwich for me to eat in the car on the way to the airport.